The Giants are destroying the competition down here; so what does it mean?

I might get into this for a story in the paper in the next few days, but what does it mean that the Giants are 16-6, the best exhibition record in the majors?

I mean, they played an almost flawless game today, beating the White Sox 6-1 at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. Matt Cain threw 6 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run despite trotting out his slider for the first time this spring. The hitters pulverized Gavin Floyd, a starter who had been throwing well down here, and for the day hit seven doubles and a triple.

And this is typical of the way the Giants have played.

Now, everybody’s said it, and it still holds true. The 16-6 record is meaningless. Even Mr. Optimism, manager Bruce Bochy, recognizes that.

“Spring training is about getting ready,” he said after today’s game. “We’re getting wins, but we’re more focused on getting the guys ready and playing good ball.”

The Giants are hitting well, but some of that you can take with a grain of salt because it’s easier to hit and harder to pitch down here. With that in mind, the pitching has been pretty impressive. The defense has not been bad, either.

Here is the most interesting thing to me: In more than two decades of covering ball, I cannot remember a Giants team that played better fundamental baseball day in and day out in the exhibitions. I’m talking about not kicking the ball around, hitting cutoff men, sending runners to third with nobody out with grounders to the right side, etc…

I joked with Cain today about not wanting to use your best stuff during rehearsal, but he said he thinks these wins are important.

“I think this right here is going to build confidence for us carrying over into the season,” Cain said. “We’ve got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing and pick each other up.”

“You want to get to the regular season and hope this translates into a great start and a great April,” infielder Kevin Frandsen said. “I compare it to the Angels. They dominate the Cactus League. When you play them it’s like, ‘Oh, man.’ Every hit they’re first-to-third, first-to-third. They never kick balls. They run the bases perfectly.”

Spring records often do not carry into the season. Remember the Montreal Expos? They used to win 20 games every spring because they had scads of young players who were still sharp from winter ball and ready to hit. Once the season started, every other team caught and passed them.

But the Angels provide the opposite argument. The last four springs they went 26-8, 19-10, 19-14 and 20-11. The last three years they went on to win the AL West and win 97, 100 and 94 games, respectively.

They set a tone in the spring and carry it into the season. Of course, the Angels have played in a weaker division than the NL West, which might have more to do with those win totals.

However, if the Giants keep playing fundamentally sound, they should go into their April 5 season opener with some hope of good days to come.